Citation issued: october 4, 2012

amandeep chandi singh

Citations are issued by the Law Society of BC's Discipline Committee and list allegations against a lawyer which will be considered at a discipline hearing. Please note that allegations in a citation are unproven until a discipline hearing panel has determined their validity.

Nature of conduct to be inquired into:

Conduct Related to Division 7, Part 3 of the Law Society Rules

1. On or about May 20, 2009, you improperly withdrew $500 from trust, contrary to Rule 3-56(1) of the Law Society Rules.

This conduct constitutes professional misconduct or a breach of the Act or rules, pursuant to s. 38(4) of the Legal Profession Act.

2. From June 2009 to June 2010, you improperly authorized the withdrawal of funds from a pooled trust account by electronic transfer, by setting up an electronic transfer capacity which permitted the withdrawal of funds from trust in circumstances contrary to the requirements of Rule 3-56(1.3) and (3.1).

This conduct constitutes professional misconduct or a breach of the Act or rules, pursuant to s. 38(4) of the Legal Profession Act.

3. In respect of a trust shortage of an amount varying between approximately $9,399 and $581,858.29, which commenced in or about June 2009:

a) between June 2009 and June 2010, you failed at all times to maintain sufficient funds on deposit in your pooled trust account to meet the firm’s obligations with respect to funds held in trust for clients, contrary to Rule 3-55;

b) when you discovered that there was a trust shortage sometime between June 2009 and January 2010, you failed to immediately pay enough funds into the account to eliminate the shortage and did not cause the shortage to be eliminated until July 2010, contrary to Rule 3-66(1);

c) you failed to make a written report to the Executive Director of the Law Society immediately and did not do so until June 2010, contrary toRule 3-66(2) and Chapter 13, Rule 1(b) of the Professional Conduct Handbook.

This conduct constitutes professional misconduct or a breach of the Act or rules, pursuant to s. 38(4) of the Legal Profession Act.

4. On or about April 13, 2010, you received a cash retainer of at least $1,000 from RM to perform legal services for her brother, and you deposited those funds to your firm’s general account on or about April 19, 2010, contrary to Rule 3-51(1).

This conduct constitutes professional misconduct or a breach of the Act or rules, pursuant to s. 38(4) of the Legal Profession Act.

5. You failed to ensure that the books, records and accounts of your firm were maintained in accordance with Division 7 of Part 3 of the Law Society Rules, and in particular:

a) trust transactions were not recorded promptly not more than 7 days after a trust transaction or at all, contrary to Rule 3-63, and in particular approximately 89 online withdrawals made between June 1, 2009 and June 16, 2010;

b) monthly trust reconciliations were not prepared within 30 days of the effective date of the reconciliation, contrary to Rule 3-65, for each of some or all the following months: March 2010, April 2010, May 2010;

This conduct constitutes professional misconduct or a breach of the Act or rules, pursuant to s. 38(4) of the Legal Profession Act.

Conduct Related to Your Client KB and AB

6. In or about December 2009, you borrowed the principal amount of $20,000 (the “Loan”) from KB and AB, when KB was a client of your firm Singh Abrahams, which transaction was not of a routine nature to, nor in the ordinary course of, his or their business, contrary to Chapter 7, Rule 4 of the Professional Conduct Handbook.

This conduct constitutes professional misconduct, pursuant to s. 38(4) of the Legal Profession Act.

7. Further, when you entered into the Loan from KB and AB, you failed to advise them that you were not protecting their interests, contrary to Chapter 4, Rule 1 of the Professional Conduct Handbook.

This conduct constitutes professional misconduct, pursuant to s. 38(4) of the Legal Profession Act.

8. On or about April 30, 2010, you improperly withdrew $5,000 from trust contrary to Rule 3-56(1), and used those funds to purchase a bank draft of $5,000 to partially repay the Loan.

This conduct constitutes professional misconduct or a breach of the Act or rules, pursuant to s. 38(4) of the Legal Profession Act.